Chain-buckle.



L. L. CONKEY.

CHAIN BUCKLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8' 1913.

1,134,994. I Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

UH misses Inucnrov.

' 'LconardLGomxcu.

M 63 '2 dwwrna UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

LEONARD I4. CONKEY, 0F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS OLINGER,

OF HOLLAND, MICHIGAN.

CHAIN-BUCKLE.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application filed March 8, 1-913. Serial No. 752,882.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD L. CONKEY,

a citizen of the United States of America,

appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to chain buckles, and its object is to provide a device whlch shall be simple and economical in construction, which shall Withoutthe use of a spring engage and securely hold the chain to which it is applied, and which may be readily fastened and unfastened without unduly tightening the chain; other objects appearing hereinafter. These objects are attained by, and my present invention finds a preferable embodiment in, the structure hereinafter described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chain buckle applied to a chain, and illustrating the closed or operative position of the device; and Fig. 2 is a like view of the buckle suflicient width and depth to admit one of the chain links edgewise,'the sides of the slot engaging the next link, which is necessarily in transverse relation to such admitted link.

It will be seen that as the tongue is moved in' the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 to unfasten the buckle, the chain is loosened at the chape when necessarily tightened at the tongue end, and that therefore the buckle may be the more readily unfastened when the chain is tight about any object; and also that the degree of this loosening at the chape Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

relatively to the necessary tightening at the tongue depends on the proportional'length of the lever arms 7 and 8 and to their angular relation on the fulcrum point; and also that by reason of the stress exercised on the lever by the tightening chain, the lever is held in engagement with the hasp 1.

This invention is a particular improve ment on the devlce' shown'in my former Patent No. 395,742, issued January 8th, 1889. It will be seen that it is much more durable in construction and that by eliminating the spring, for actuating the tongue,

I have overcome the objection that the spring Was necessarily fragile and liable to break, thus making the device inoperative. When the device is applied to chain 4 it exerts tension upon the member 7 through the bolt or fastening 3 which obviously forces the slotted terminal of the lever 7 "upwardly into engagementwith the transversely disposed linkof said chain thereby rigidly holding the clasp in position.

Not confining myself to details of construction shown or described, I claim:

In a chain buckle, a hasp'member of U- shaped formation, the free ends of said hasp member being enlarged, a lever pivoted between the enlarged ends of said hasp member, said lever being reduced at its outer end and extending beyond the enlarged ends of the hasp member, said lever having a notch in its inner end, and a chain connectedto the reduced end of the lever beyond the enlarged ends of the hasp member and adapted to engage the notch in said lever, the inner end of the lever being greater in width than the distance between the sides of the hasp member, and longer than the inner longitudinal dimensions of said haspmember,

said lever being curved to conform to the curvature of the upper side of the hasp member whereby'the inner end of the lever will engage the. entire upper side of the hasp member and relieve the pivoted portion thereof from all strain substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEONARD L. (DONKEY. WVitnesses:

HAROLD O. VAN ANTWERP, PALMER A. J ONES.

Washington, D. G. 

